Supergirl marks the second film in James Gunn’s DC Universe following last year’s Superman. Going in, all I really knew about the character was that she was a much messier and more emotionally damaged figure than her famous cousin. That makes her an unexpectedly bold choice for the first follow-up to Superman. The question, however, was whether Supergirl could avoid the superhero fatigue that has plagued the genre over the last several years. A fatigue that even affected Superman itself. Sadly, Supergirl ultimately succumbs to that same plague, becoming one of the most forgettable superhero films of the past decade.
On her 23rd birthday, Kara Zor-El (Milly Alcock, House of the Dragon) spends her time on red-sun planets getting wasted out of her mind as she struggles to cope with the loss of her home world. However, when an unexpected and ruthless adversary poisons her beloved dog, Krypto, she reluctantly joins forces with Ruthye (Eve Ridley), a teenager, and together they go on an epic, interstellar journey of vengeance and justice.
This iteration of Supergirl is adapted from the 2021 comic book miniseries Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow by Tom King. Though I have never read the graphic novel, it is widely considered the definitive Supergirl story and was even an official finalist for the Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story. Beneath its vibrant and beautiful artwork lies a dark tale about depression, trauma, finding meaning in a universe filled with pain, and preventing others from experiencing that same pain. Given that the superhero genre is rapidly fading from relevance, you would think that James Gunn, alongside director Craig Gillespie and first-time screenwriter Ana Nogueira, would do everything in their power to make Supergirl stand out. Sadly, Supergirl is virtually indistinguishable from the superhero films that have been flooding theaters for the past fifteen years.
If Supergirl had come out ten or fifteen years ago, it likely would have been both a critical and commercial success. But the genre has become increasingly cliché, nostalgia-driven, and creatively stagnant. A passable-at-best and painfully safe superhero film simply isn’t enough anymore. With such rich source material at its disposal, seeing this film play everything so safely is not just frustrating but also infuriating.
We are introduced to Kara, aka Supergirl, through a montage of her drinking herself into oblivion, waking up hungover, and seemingly flying to a yellow sun to sober up before repeating the cycle all over again. Despite Clark’s best efforts, she refuses almost all of his help. Her life is pathetic because she wastes her immense potential wallowing in self-pity. But it is also undeniably tragic, as she struggles to cope with the loss of her people. On paper, this is a fascinating portrait of a superhero. However, in execution Supergirl is terrified of truly exploring a self-destructive character who is trying to find meaning in her life while also preventing someone else from going down the same path. Instead, the film reduces her to an alcoholic who only springs into action when her dog’s life is in danger.
Ruthye is a teenager on a quest to exact revenge against Krem (Matthias Schoenaerts, Amsterdam), a war criminal who murdered her family. Kara repeatedly warns Ruthye that vengeance will heal nothing. The problem is that Supergirl never actually shows the self-destructive consequences of revenge. Instead, it unintentionally makes you question why Kara is so adamantly against killing Krem. As they travel from planet to planet, they witness the devastation Krem has left in his wake. Though he is an entirely forgettable villain, Krem is an absolute monster. He is not only a mass murderer but also a sex trafficker. Both Ruthye and Kara witness and experience the aftermath of his crimes firsthand.
So why is Kara preaching mercy to a teenager whose family was slaughtered by this man? Why does she insist that revenge will solve nothing when the film never demonstrates the emotional or moral cost of Ruthye’s quest? We never see Ruthye self-destruct in any meaningful way. She remains largely the same person throughout the journey, even after witnessing the horrors Krem has inflicted on countless people.If anything, the film unintentionally justifies Ruthye’s quest for vengeance while simultaneously insisting that she is wrong for wanting it. The film’s moral compass is so confused and questionable that it makes you wonder about the moral perspective of the filmmakers themselves.
These shallow narratives, combined with equally shallow characters and themes, terrible CGI, jarring needle drops, tonal whiplash, and flat cinematography, Supergirl an incredibly forgettable cinematic experience. Despite the best efforts of Milly Alcock and a wildly tonally out-of-place Jason Momoa, they simply cannot save this film. Supergirl is painfully mediocre, forgettable, and completely sanitized. Everyone knows that the comic book genre needs to reinvent itself and evolve if it wants to remain relevant. So why is this film nothing more than a collage of superhero tropes and clichés we’ve seen countless times before? I don’t know, but judging by the current state of the genre, audiences certainly won’t be rushing out to embrace it. That reality will almost certainly be reflected at the box office.
My Rating: C-
Supergirl is now in theaters nationwide.
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